Top 5 legendary Footballers who never won the Ballon d'Or

Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious award in terms of individual performances. Every player dreams of winning the Ballon d’Or at least once in his playing career. While players like Lionel Messi have won Ballon d’Or 8 times his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo has won 5 times.

On the other hand, some players missed out on winning the Ballon d’Or even if they had a good performance individually. On that note, we take a look at 5 Legendary Footballers Who Never Won the Ballon d'Or:

5. Robert Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski was the most deserving player to win the Ballon d’Or on two different occasions. In the 2019/20 season, Robert Lewandowski won the treble with German giants Bayern Munich. Throughout the season he scored 55 goals and was the main contender for the Ballon d’Or. However, due to covid outbreak, the award was cancelled. Again in the 2021/2022 season, Robert Lewandowski made himself the no.1 contender to win the award as he scored 62 goals for Bayern Munich. Eventually, he lost to Lionel Messi who got 33 more votes than him.

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4. Andres Iniesta

Andres Iniesta was one of the best midfielders and greatest players in football history. Andres Iniesta played most of the time with FC Barcelona. During his time with the Spanish club, he won 9 times La Liga titles and a treble. He also won the FIFA World Cup with Spain. Andres Iniesta was a key player in Spain's run to the FIFA World Cup final. During the FIFA World Cup final match against the Netherlands, we broke the deadlock and scored the lone goal. He finished in second position falling short of his teammate Lionel Messi.

3. Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry is known as one of the most prolific strikers. In his career, he won the FIFA World Cup, Premier League, La Liga and UEFA Champions League. But missed out on winning the Ballon d’Or. During his time with Arsenal, Thierry Henry netted 42 goals and gave 26 assists in all competitions. He also broke the record for most assists in a Premier League single season. But in 2003 Thierry Henry saw getting Ballon d’Or to Pavel Nedved.

2. Franck Ribery

Another player of Bayern Munich is Franck Ribery who should have won the Ballon d’Or. His performance in 2013 was one of the best in individual terms. With Bayern Munich, Franck Ribery won the treble as they became the first team in Germany to achieve this feat. Franck Ribery scored 34 goals for Bayern Munich. But Franck Ribery lost the Ballon d’Or to Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano Ronaldo scored 55 goals in the 2012/13 season. Franck Ribery was placed in the No.3 position.

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1. Neymar Jr.

Neymar Jr. is one of the best football players in the world. His career started with Santos a club in Brazil. In 2011 he scored 19 goals for the club and came into the limelight of the world. He 2013 he joined FC Barcelona and became the mainstay of the team. The attacking line-up for Barcelona was the most feared in football as they had Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. Jr.

In 2015 Neymar Jr had his career-best season with Barcelona as he scored 34 goals in La Liga. He was a key member of the team in the UEFA Champions League as they went to lift the UCL trophy against Juventus. He had a remarkable season but he missed out on winning Ballon d’Or in 2015. He lost to Lionel Messi.